MSI Press Blog

  The following excerpt comes from Recovering from Domestic Violence, Abuse, and Stalking by Joanna Romer. INTRODUCTION   This book is for you if you’ve ever been the victim of domestic violence, abuse or stalking. It’s also for you if your sister, mother or friend has been victimized, as one of the stories in this volume describes. Having escaped a dangerous situation or come to grips with it in some way, you must now start the process of rebuilding your life. Where do you turn? How can you find the “self” you were before the abuse began? Is this even possible? Hopefully, this book will provide some answers to those questions. Included are interviews with women just like you who overcame the reality of domestic violence, stalking or abuse. You will also find advice from therapists to help you sort your life out and put the pieces back together. Domestic abuse these days ranges all the way from being called a slut to hospitalization and even murder (included in this book). In the latt

  As Women's History Month concludes, here are some books that may be of interest; they reflect hope in the aftermath of various kinds of violence against women. They also point out ways that women can manage violence when it appears -- survive it and recover from it. Healing from Incest ( Geri Henderson ) In speaking about Healing from Incest, Susan J. Lewis, Ph.D., J.D., Healing writes: “"Brave, profound, touching, healing. This well-written, honest book takes the reader inside the complexities of the therapeutic healing process from the patient and therapist's unique perspective. It is the story of hard work, hope, commitment and recovery!" Healing from Incest tells the journey of a victim-turned-survivor, working with her therapist to find healing. Readers are pulled into the therapeutic process as Henderson relates her conversations and feelings as a victim of child abuse and Emerton interprets those feelings and describes interventions. For those who recognize t

  Excerpt from Staying Safe While Sheltering in Place (Schnuelle, Adams, & Henderson) Introduction (by Hendereson) My eyes blinked open suddenly and I was immediately filled with dread, even terror! Now wide awake and worried, I envisioned a stay-at-home order being issued when I was a child. How would I have survived? I was immediately filled with fear as I imagined what it might have been like to be unable to escape the abuses of my father. Of course, my next thought was for all the children, women, girlfriends, or anyone else who might now be stuck at home with a person who is dangerous, someone who instills fear in their victims day and night. What is happening to these children? What is happening to whole families who are in lock-down with someone who can, has, and probably will hurt them, possibly fatally? I started talking to people, starting with my sisters. The thought of it was so awful they couldn’t really discuss it, but one of them, who has worked for years in Soc

  Excerpt from Healing from Incest : Lies and Secrets When I think about the lies my father told and all the unsaid thoughts and fears that were part of the air we breathed at our house, I remember a particularly frightening time when the truth was almost brought into the open many, many years before that session in Seanne’s office.   Mother and Father had come for my college graduation—a ceremony I had attempted to forego, perhaps to avoid having them come. But that same weekend my cousin had planned his wedding to coincide with the gathering of the families and friends for our combined graduations. I was involved in the wedding preparations, and Mother decided to ride along with me to a nearby city for the rehearsal. The truth was, she had an agenda that I couldn't have imagined. If I’d had any idea of her intention, I'd have been even more frightened and much more uncomfortable.   I sometimes had nightmares about Mother dying and me being forced to marry my fathe

    Recently released: audiobook edition of  Recovering from Domestic Violence, Abuse, and Stalking  by Joanna Romer. Recovering from Domestic Violence, Abuse, and Stalking shares the true stories of women who overcame traumatic personal situations and began new lives. The author provides meaningful analysis on such topics as regaining self-esteem, dealing with fear, and handling remorse. Also included is advice from therapists on how survivors can heal themselves and avoid the pitfalls of becoming entrapped in another abusive relationship. This book is for you if you've been the victim of domestic violence, abuse, or stalking, or if your mother, sister or friend has been victimized. The experiences covered range from verbal abuse to murder. Recovering from Domestic Violence, Abuse, and Stalking is an essential guide for those who have escaped a dangerous situation or are trying to recover from the loss of a loved one due to domestic violence. For more posts about Joanna and her

  Today's back story is about the book, It Only Hurts When I Can't Run  by Gewanda Parker. From the publisher: When Gewanda approached us with her pre-publication manuscript, it was clear that here was a person who had experienced tremendous trauma as a child. That is a story, of course. A sad story. However, what was also clear was her resilience in overcoming that trauma very, very successfully. That was a story worth publishing. An uplifting story. A story that can help others. More important for us as publisher, it fit into a line of such books, the leaders of which were Elizabeth Mahlou's Blest Atheist and Geri Henderson's and Seanne Emerton's Healing from Incest -- and ultimate prompted the commissioned book by Joanna Romer, Recovering from Domestic Abuse, Stalking, and Abuse . When it was released, Gewanda's book quickly flew to the top of Amazon's hot new releases lists: #4 Hot New Releases in the child abuse category #8 Hot New Releases in the fam

Today's book excerpt comes from Blest Atheist by Elizabeth Mahlou. Mercy   The Samaritan stopped because he was filled with mercy. He also had clearly been blessed with the resources to help. I stopped by habit. Very early I internalized the concept that helping even one person toward a better life is a way to justify one’s own existence. That may well have given a positive balance to the daily abuse I experienced throughout my childhood. Knowing that someone was better off because of something I had done—whether it was teaching a kindergarten class when I was in first grade, working as the teachers’ helper in conducting an extra reading group for the struggling readers in my elementary school classroom, or serving as an evening telephone resource to the eighth-grade members of my advanced mathematics class whose teacher kept confusing us with high school juniors—established a sense of self-worth that logically should never have appeared, given all the abuse I experienced

  What is a book jewel? A sometimes-overlooked book with remarkable insight and potential significance. Starting in August, we will share near-daily, as possible, reviews of the monthly book jewel - short, succinct reviews that can be read in 1-2 minutes with links to the reviewer by reviewers whose words are worthy of being heard and whose opinions are worthy of being considered. Sometimes a couple of minutes contains more impressive thought than ten times that many. We will let you decide that. This month's book jewel is  Blest Atheist  by Elizabeth Mahlou. Amazon review by Debra Gaynor - Elizabeth Mahlou grew up in an abusive home. She tells of her mother stabbing her brother with a knife in the buttocks, and her father throwing a pitchfork and stabbing him with it. Taking an airplane ride had a whole new meaning in this family. The abuse was physical, emotional, and sexual. "The wounds were in the heart and mind and covered parts of the body." Like most bullies, their